Its spring and the soil is soaked. Teddy laid at my feet, sighing, wanting to race with the chicken out in the backyard. No can do, boy. It’s drizzling outside. I go back to my book, determined to finish Earthly Joys (intelligently written by Philippa Gregory). The novel narrates John Tradescant’s gardening skills, attracting the attention of the Duke of Buckingham, the rumored lover of King Charles I. The story describes John’s unquestioning loyalty and as such he becomes a confidant as his master strolls in the garden and watch him work.

I closed and put the book down, gazed outside and see the sun shining. Enough of royalty and loyalty and rarities. Time to hit the ground and check on my salad garden. Here lies my loyalty and skill. My veggie plot is mixed with perennial flowers and vegetables with colorful leaves. These veggies are easy to grow. Lettuce and other salad greens can be planted even in containers. They grow quickly as well. This spring, I planted a
variety of green veggies – lettuce, kale and spinach. They merely need watering once every two weeks. In order to harvest the leaves, cut the outside leaves and let the smaller ones from the inside grow. Except for spinach. Pull up the entire plant at once to harvest.

Back to John. Come to think of it, John did travel and export plants that we now enjoy in our gardens. Yes, I think of John as I check the leaves of my greens. He did live a colorful life and died surrounded by his flowers and his collection of rarities. And so am I. I have a colorful life, surrounded by my flowers, greens and Teddy. And where could that chicken be off to?

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Jay Azul here!

My blog is all about my musings and ramblings as I work on my garden. At times, I compare what I am currently working on with life. Or I’d post something about a book or article I read. Writing about me is the most difficult bit, I’d rather hear and interact with you.
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